Nunavut man charged for fleeing minimum-security jail

An Arctic Bay man charged with second-degree murder now faces two new charges after he allegedly broke out of a minimum security prison in Iqaluit.

Police say Andrew Muckpaloo, 31, broke out of Makigiarvik Correctional Centre on Oct. 10 and escaped, according to documents filed at the Nunavut Court of Justice on Oct. 11.

Muckpaloo has been charged with the jail break and escaping from lawful custody.

Those charges have been added to two other charges laid against Muckpaloo in 2018: one count of second-degree murder and one count of assault.

Police charged Muckpaloo in connection with the death of Silas Barnabas, who died at the Arctic Bay health centre on March 26, 2018.

None of these charges have been proven in court.

Justice Paul Bychok presided over a preliminary hearing in Iqaluit on Muckpaloo’s murder charge, held from Jan. 30 to Feb 1.

Evidence and testimony at preliminary hearings cannot be published until after a trial in order to protect the accused from bias.

That’s because preliminary hearings usually focus on the evidence against an accused to determine if there is enough evidence to go to trial.

Muckpaloo was ordered to stand trial by Bychok at the end of his preliminary inquiry.

Muckpaloo’s case is scheduled for court on Jan. 6 in order to set a trial date.